Tentstake Ministries

“Then came one of the angels with the seven bowls; and he said to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great whore who is sitting by many waters. The kings of the earth went whoring with her, and the people living on earth have become drunk from the wine of her whoring” (Revelation 17:1-2).

In this interlude of Tribulation events, Yochanan is shown more details about the ‘great whore’ and ‘the beast’ from Revelation 13. The Hebrew word for ‘whore’ is zanah and means to ‘commit adultery.’ This ‘whore’ or ‘adulteress’ is a spiritual adulteress. She is a harlot who has chosen to forsake the Creator, the God of Isra’el, and submit to false gods. Her global harlotry includes kings and people from every nation, tribe, and tongue.

This spiritual adulteress sits on many waters. Some suggest that this is a reference to a specific place, but it may refer to spiritual nourishment coming from every false religion in the world –– the ‘one world’ religious system. Many people believe ‘there are many ways to God’ and seek other religions to fill their empty soul. There are ‘many waters’ that draw people who have a spiritual thirst, but it leaves them parched.

The prophet Jeremiah warns the nation of Isra’el about drinking the dirty water, “For my people have committed two evils: they have abandoned me, the fountain of living water, and dug themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water!” (Jeremiah 2:13). Adonai considers it ‘evil’ to abandon His ‘fountain of living water’ for broken cisterns that can’t hold water.

Everyone who forsakes the God of Isra’el becomes a spiritual harlot drunk on the ‘wine’ of spiritual immorality. The Hebrew word for ‘whoring’ is zenunim and means ‘fornication’ suggesting that these spiritual harlots never entered the ‘marriage covenant’ with Elohim. They are godless, irreverent, and completely immoral, yet they believe they are spiritually enlightened. Being drunk not only impairs judgment and vision, but also balance. According to the prophet Isaiah, the sin of fornication affects the earth: “The earth staggers to and fro like a drunk, sways back and forth like a watchman’s shelter; its transgression weighs heavy upon it; it will fall and not rise again” (Isaiah 24:20).

This will be the condition of the earth; this is the condition of the western culture with its abominations. As the whole world begins to embrace detestable sexual practices, leaders and nations will fall into a drunken spiritual stupor.

“She must remove her whoring from her face, and her adulteries from between her breasts. Otherwise, I will strip her naked and place her as she was the day she was born, make her like a desert, place her like a dry land and kill her with thirst. I will have no pity on her children, for they are children of whoring — their mother prostituted herself, she who conceived them behaved shamelessly; she said, ‘I will pursue my lovers, who give me my food and water, wool, flax, olive oil and wine’” (Hosea 3:2-5).

“He carried me off in the Spirit to a desert, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast filled with blasphemous names and having seven heads and ten horns. The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet and glittered with gold, precious stones and pearls. In her hand was a gold cup filled with the obscene and filthy things produced by her whoring. On her forehead was written a name with a hidden meaning, BAVEL THE GREAT, MOTHER OF WHORES AND OF THE EARTH’S OBSCENITIES. I saw the woman drunk from the blood of God’s people, that is, from the blood of the people who testify about Yeshua” (Revelation 17:3-6).

The Ruach haKodesh carries Yochanan into the desert. The Hebrew word for ‘desert’ is midbar and and also means ‘wilderness.’ A desert or wilderness area gets little to no moisture, it is spiritually dry. There is no living water.

He sees a woman sitting on a scarlet beast with seven heads and ten horns. In Revelation 12:3, the dragon that gives the ‘beast’ its power is scarlet or red. This same ‘beast’ in Revelation 13 has blasphemous names written on its heads. This ‘beast’ represents a global demonic political force given life through the Adversary.

‘Scarlet’ symbolizes power and wealth within the ‘beast’ political system. Scarlet was considered a status symbol during the Roman Empire. Moreover, scarlet clothing is worn by Cardinals, the religious leaders in the Roman catholic hierarchical political ‘beast.’ The prophet Isaiah compares sin to the color of scarlet, and the ‘beast’ is the embodiment of sin (Isaiah 1:18).

The dictionary defines blasphemy as ‘the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence for God’ or ‘a mere man suggesting that he is divine’ (John 10:33). The scarlet beast is full of blasphemous names showing its contempt for Adonai by claiming to be God ruling. He doesn’t have just one blasphemous name, but many names/rgovernments claiming to be God. This may be how the nation’s kings embrace ‘the Lie’ perpetuated in the Garden of Eden. In 2018, the Democratic National Convention in the United States claimed itself to be the party of the religiously unaffiliated, the agnostic, and the atheist.

The ‘woman’ riding the scarlet beast is dressed in scarlet and purple. The word argaman is ‘red-purple’ in Hebrew. This ‘woman’ is the global religious system that sits atop the politically demonic ‘beast.’ In this scenario there is no ‘separation of church and state;’ they are all one. She glitters with gold showing her wealth, topaz showing her religious spirit, and pearls showing her beauty comes from everything ‘unclean’ (Ezekiel 28:13). She is gaudy –– excessively showy, ostentatiously embellished. Her pride lifts her high upon the ‘beast.’

In her hand, she holds a golden cup filled with filthy and obscene things – abominations – produced by her whoring. On her head is written a name: Babylon the Great, Mother of Whores, and the Earth’s Obscenities. The word sod is used for ‘mystery’ and means ‘hidden.’ Sod is used for a secret or mystical meaning of a Scripture. Though the meaning of her name may be mysterious, her global conquest of religions and politics is not.

The ‘mark of the beast’ is put on the forehead or hand; this ‘whore’ holds abominations in her hand and her forehead is ‘marked’ with a mysterious name. Those who embrace this political religious system will choose to receive the ‘mark of the beast.’

The ‘whore’ is drunk on the blood of the saints, those who have a testimony of Yeshua. This scarlet beast-whore religious political system will be murderous. Anyone who makes a stand for Yeshua will be murdered and martyred by this bejeweled woman and her false, anti-Torah, lawless political religious system.

“On seeing her, I was altogether astounded. Then the angel said to me, “Why are you astounded? I will tell you the hidden meaning of the woman and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that was carrying her” (Revelation 17:6-7).

In the Hebrew, the words shammah gadolah, in the feminine, mean ‘great name;’ however, these two words also mean ‘appalling desolation.’ The authority and power of this ‘woman’ distressed Yochanan and brought him great horror. The angel saw his distress and tells him to ‘wake up’ from his shock and horror so the angel can explain the sod of the ‘scarlet beast.’

“The beast you saw once was, now is not, and will come up from the Abyss; but it is on its way to destruction. The people living on earth whose names have not been written in the Book of Life since the founding of the world will be astounded to see the beast that once was, now is not, but is to appear. This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven hills on which the woman is sitting; also they are seven kings — five have fallen, one is living now and the other is yet to come; and when he does come, he must remain only a little while. The beast which once was and now is not is an eighth king; it comes from the seven and is on its way to destruction” (Revelation 17:8-11).

The ‘beast’ is representative of historical kingdoms described by the prophet Daniel. However, he only mentions four kingdoms: Babylon, Media-Persia, Greece, and Rome (Daniel 7). There is another –– one which was, now is not, and will return. Could one of them be Babel, Egypt, Assyria? Will one of these ancient religious political systems return?

“Then they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city with a tower that has its top reaching up into heaven, so that we can make a name for ourselves and not be scattered all over the earth” (Genesis 11:4).

The first kingdom after the flood was in the land of Shinar. At the Tower Babel, the people of the world had a combined religious system with a government. Everyone spoke the same language which made building the tower possible and the ability to set their thrones above Adonai. Nimrod set the precedent in Babel, Pharaoh in Egypt, Sennacheri in Assyria, Nebuchadnezzer in Babylon (Daniel 4:3). When kings refuse to submit to Adonai and His Torah, they become lawlessness; the ‘spirit’ of anti-messiah that is still at work in the world (1 John 4:3).

“Look at the land of the Kasdim [Chaldeans]! This was the people who did not exist … so that it has been made a ruin” (Isaiah 23:13).

The land of the Kasdim was ancient Babel. At the time of this revelation, Babel no longer existed though it had been ‘revived’ during reign of Nebuchadnezzer in Babylon. ‘Mystery Babylon’ will be the last kingdom with a king that seeks to set his throne above Adonai. This king will separate himself from Torah, he will oppose himself to everything that is called a god or an object of worship, and he will sit in the Temple and proclaim himself God (2 Thessalonians2:3-4). This last kingdom that will smash and crumble all others will be the kingdom of the Adversary and his false prophet (Ezekiel 28:2).

The people of the earth do not care about prophecy, do not have the Ruach haKodesh to direct them, and will be astounded that this once-dead ‘beast’ kingdom come to life. This kingdom doesn’t come out of the ‘sea of nations,’ but out of the Abyss of demonic darkness and sits on the ‘sea of nations.’

To understand the ‘mystery’ calls for a mind of wisdom. Wisdom is needed for those who understand the number of the ‘beast,’ as it is the number of a person (Revelation 13:15). It would be astounding to see Nimrod, the first powerful ruler on earth who hunted people’s souls to be resurrected from the Abyss after being beheaded by Esau (Genesis 10:9, 1 Chronicles 1:10).

“And Nimrod and two of his men that were with him came to the place where they were, when Esau started suddenly from his lurking place, and drew his sword, and hastened and ran to Nimrod and cut off his head” (Jasher 27:10).

According to the angel, the seven heads are seven hills. The only city that sits on seven hills is Rome. Each of these hills have pagan gods and goddesses attached to them: Aventine Hill (dedicated to goddess Diana), Caelian Hill (merging of Roman and Greek gods), Capitoline Hill (dedicated to god Saturn/Christmas, and Jupiter), Esquiline Hill (nymphs who animate nature), Palatine Hill (Temple of Cybele, the Great Mother), Quirinal Hill (dedicated to god Quirinus), and Viminal Hill (Babylonaian Ishter/Easter).

Wisdom suggests two different religious systems in the world: one that has been usurping Truth for centuries and comes from Rome; the other comes from Mount Tziyon and teaches the Truth of Torah and the Word of Yeshua (Micah 4:2).

“The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet begun to rule, but they receive power as kings for one hour, along with the beast. They have one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast. They will go to war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will defeat them, because he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are called, chosen and faithful will overcome along with him” (Revelation 17:12-14).

The ten kings or horns on the ‘beast’ will be powerful leaders for a very brief time. They will be destroyed in one hour, another unspecified time (Revelation 18:10, Isaiah 24). The Hebrew word is etzah is used for ‘mind’ and means ‘counsel’ or ‘advice.’ As one counsel, they give their power and authority to the ‘beast.’ These ten kings are the ten toes of the ‘beast’ in Daniel 7.

They will go to war against the Lamb. They will perceive him as a Lamb still, but Yeshua will be a lion. He will not be led to the slaughter. He will be the Lion of Y’hudah, the warrior King and make war against the kings of the earth. He will defeat the ‘beast’ and the kings.

The Hebrew word qara for ‘called ‘ means not only ‘to call, to proclaim,’ but ‘invited’ (Matthew 22:14). Those who are ‘invited’ will be victorious with Yeshua The Hebrew word for ‘chosen’ means ‘those he knew before the foundations of the world.’ The ‘invited,’ ‘chosen,’ and faithful will overcome with the Lion King. One Hebrew word for ‘overcome’ means ‘roar’ like a lion!

“The lion has roared. Who will not fear? Adonai, God, has spoken. Who will not prophesy?” (Amos 3:8).

“Here is a people rising up like a lioness; like a lion he rears himself up — he will not lie down till he eats up the prey and drinks the blood of the slain” (Numbers 23:23-25).

“They will go after Adonai, who will roar like a lion; for he will roar, and the children will come trembling from the west” (Hosea 11:10).

“Then he said to me, “The waters that you saw, where the whore is sitting, are peoples, crowds, nations and languages. As for the ten horns that you saw and the beast, they will hate the whore, bring her to ruin, leave her naked, eat her flesh and consume her with fire. For God put it in their hearts to do what will fulfill his purpose, that is, to be of one mind and give their kingdom to the beast until God’s words have accomplished their intent. And the woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth” (Revelation 17:15-18).

The ‘waters’ where the ‘whore’ sits symbolizes peoples, nations, and languages. ‘Sitting’ suggests that she has spiritual authority and political power over them. She personifies a perverted and adulterous religious system that needs Elohim’s judgment. He puts in in the hearts of the ‘ten kings’ to destroy ‘the whore’ just like He hardened Pharaoh’s heart. The kings leave her naked, eat her flesh and consume her with fire. The ten kings will then hand their kingdoms over to the ‘beast.’

In the ‘days’ of the beast, the perversion of Adonai’s covenant will be lawlessness and the complete removal of His covenant along with those who guard it. His covenant is Torah; the ‘sign’ of the covenant is the seventh-day Sabbath (Ezekiel 20:20).

To those who have a Laodicean heart, tjudgment is coming. Those who mix the ‘holy’ and the ‘profane,’ have justified mixing their perverted religious system. Being found naked is how Yeshua finds the congregation in Laodicea. They had become too rich and self-sufficient to see their need for the Provider (Revelation 3:17).

To ‘eat her flesh’ symbolizes the carnality of the ‘whoring’ religious system in its death throes. When a bacteria ‘eats flesh,’ the skin dies from the infection. The blood supply, the life force, is cut off and skin tissues begin to decay. This is known as necrosis. This ‘whoring’ religious system has become so carnal that it’s own fleshly desires destroy it. It is consumed with fire. Judgment by fire is promised to those who are ungodly (2 Peter 3:7).

“All her carved images will be smashed to pieces, all she earned consumed by fire; and I will reduce her idols to rubble. She amassed them from a whore’s wages, and as a whore’s wages they will be spent again” (Micah 1:7).

“You are worn out with all your consultations — so let the astrologers and stargazers, the monthly horoscope-makers, come forward now and save you from the things that will come upon you! Look, they will be like straw! The fire will consume them. They will not save even themselves from the power of the flame. It will not be coals for warming oneself, not a fire to sit beside! So much for your [wizards], with whom you have worked all your life! Each will wander off in his own direction, and nobody will save you” (Isaiah 47:13-15).

Chapter 18 – The Fall of Babylon the Great

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